In accordance with a rapid spread of information relevant apparatuses and communication apparatuses such as a personal computer, a video camera and a portable telephone in recent years, the development of a battery to be utilized as a power source thereof has been emphasized. The development of a high-output and high-capacity battery for an electric automobile or a hybrid automobile has been advanced also in the automobile industry. A lithium battery has been presently noticed from the viewpoint of a high energy density among various kinds of batteries.
Liquid electrolyte containing a flammable organic solvent is used for a presently commercialized lithium battery, so that the installation of a safety device for restraining temperature rise during a short circuit and the improvement in technical structure and material for preventing the short circuit are necessary therefor.
On the contrary, a lithium battery all-solidified by replacing the liquid electrolyte with a solid electrolyte layer is conceived to intend the simplification of the safety device and be excellent in production cost and productivity for the reason that the flammable organic solvent is not used in the battery. In addition, a sulfide solid electrolyte material has been known as a solid electrolyte material used for such a solid electrolyte layer.
The sulfide solid electrolyte material is so high in Li ion conductivity as to be useful for intending higher output of a battery, and various kinds of research have been conventionally made. For example, in Patent Literature 1, a glassy sulfide solid electrolyte material, such that the main component is composed of Li2S—X (X is SiS2, GeS2, P2S5 and B2S3), and a producing method for a sulfide solid electrolyte material by melt extraction are disclosed. In addition, in Examples of Patent Literature 1, a 0.6Li2S-0.4SiS2-based sulfide solid electrolyte material and 0.6Li2S-0.4GeS2-based sulfide solid electrolyte material produced by melt extraction are disclosed. Also, in Patent Literature 2, an Li2S—SiS2-based glassy sulfide solid electrolyte material such that Li2S synthesized on the specific conditions is used as a raw material is disclosed. In addition, in Examples of Patent Literature 2, a 60Li2S-40SiS2-based sulfide solid electrolyte material and a 63Li2S-36SiS2-1Li3PO4-based sulfide solid electrolyte material produced by melt extraction are disclosed.
On the other hand, in Patent Literature 3, a sulfide-based crystallized glass such that a glassy phase having Li2S and P2S5 as the main component and a crystal phase exist is disclosed. Also, in Patent Literature 4, an Li2S—P2S5-based crystallized glass having a specific diffraction peak by X-ray diffraction is disclosed.